Schlage Locks Review & Giveaway

Sometimes I wonder how we put up with certain things for so long. Do we just not see it? Do we ignore it? Or is it just not that big of deal?

Well I was asking myself this same question the other night when I was changing out my old brass doorknobs with my new aged bronze knob collection from Schlage! The very first brass knob that was replaced made such a difference! I couldn't believe I have lived with the shiny gold/brass ones for the eight years we have lived in this house!

I had the opportunity to work with Schlage a few months ago on this wonderful lock set with built in alarm, and now again with their fabulous door knob decorative collections. You don't just choose a generic one design fits all doorknob, but you get more than 1,000 customized design and finish options from traditional to modern! Your style, your way!

My style is the Camelot Collection with Georgian knobs in the aged bronze color. I can't tell you how good these look on the doors! They totally make the look and feel of my home complete.

One of the very cool features on Schlage's web site is their style selector. You choose your door, your room and your knob style and you can get a visual idea of what the knobs will look like on a door. No more guessing which style "might" be best.

I'd like to think of myself as advanced in skill in the home improvement department. If something needs to be done around the house I take care of it. But installing door knobs is incredibly simple, even for a beginner. Especially if you are just replacing an already installed knob.

For the installation of the indoor doorknobs I only used what you see here in the photo. A small hand screwdriver and a small electric screwdriver.

1. First take off the knob on one side. There will be a small push button and it should pop right off.
2. Then remove the knob ring. You will most likely need the small flat head screw driver for a little leverage.
3. You will then see your main screws. Simply remove the screws and the knobs should come right off.
4. Pop out the latchbolt and your now ready to install the new.

1. Determine if you want a faceplate. My doors did not have a faceplate installed. Schlage is super smart and allows you to remove the face plate and add a silver plug instead. This saves you from having to chisel out the door.
2. Install your latchbolt.
3. Connect the two sides of your doorknob. Center and screw in. ( I removed the knob to make it easy to screw the sides together.
4. Remove old strike plate, screw in new matching strike plate and wala! done!

I had a total of six interior knobs to install. Each one probably took me about 5 minutes.

My 7th knob to install was my handleset for the front door. This is usually very simple as well if you are just replacing an old handleset. However Schlage is always concerned with safety and this set had an extra security faceplate to install under the normal decorative faceplate. This prevents and makes it much harder for somebody to kick in or tamper with your door. I can't believe I didn't have one of these already, but my set that was previously installed didn't come with one I guess. I'm all about safety so I took the extra time to install this.

This required some chiseling, drilling and going deeper into the wood to fit the new thick security faceplate. If you have all the right tools this should only take you a few extra minutes. But requires a little more cleanup too. I feel good knowing my door and family is more safe now.

This particular handleset is really cool too because no matter what you had on before, Schlage makes it very easy to fit your current holes. The bottom of the handleset has a slider to position the hole where you need it. So no more frustration and returns, you can pretty much guarantee you will be able to fit your door.

All installation is pretty much the same as the above knobs for your handleset as well. You just need to do the steps twice, once for the knob and the other for the deadbolt.

The front door looks so good and the quality is amazing! You can tell the quality just by touching the handles. My sister was visiting for the holidays and even mentioned how nice the handles were and how nice and easy they turned. You wouldn't think the movement of the knobs could be different between brands, but I'm telling you, you can really tell the difference in the turning mechanisms. Smooth, quiet and sturdy. Who knew you could love a doorknob so much!

Here are a few different styles you can choose in the decorative collection. There are some very cool combinations!

They also have the built in alarm knob sets like I reviewed before and the key less sets! I so want to try one of these! With kids this would be so handy!

So why can you count on Schlage and their quality? Well for one they have been around for 90 years! Two they are the leader in home security and hardware products! And three, they are meticulous designers, painstaking engineers and proud craftsmen! That all sounds pretty good to me!

Schlage is big on social media and will keep in you in the loop with all of their new, old and best products! They also do many contest for chances to win their awesome products! Find them here on Facebook, Twitter and lots of photos on Pinterest!

Looking to upgrade your home? You can find Schlage products at many well known retailers such as The Home Depot, Lowe's, Amazon, True Value and many more you can see here. And of course if you are designing your own you can purchase them straight from the Schlage website.

WIN IT: Not familiar with Schlage? Want to try them out...say for FREE? As if Schlage and their products aren't awesome enough already, they are offering one of you the chance to win up to $400 worth of locks in the finish of your choice from their decorative collection! Did you all hear that $400!!!!! Get ready, set, GO! Enter and spruce up your home for the new year!
Disclosure: I received this product for the purpose of review. I did not receive any compensation for this review. The opinions in my reviews are my own, and others’ opinions may vary. This post was written by me and not edited by anyone.
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Schlage Keyed Entry Door Handle w/Alarm Review

I've had the pleasure over the last 3 months to thoroughly review the Camelot Style Keyed Entry door handle with a built-in alarm made by Schlage. I chose the aged bronze finish, and this lock set is very classy and well built.

I first spotted this door handle in my Handyman magazine. Yes my Mom got me a subscription to Handyman as a gift. See in my family (I have 2 sisters) all us girls are the DIY type. We want something done we usually do it ourselves. Especially my Mom. Not that our husbands can't, we just  usually don't wait for them to do it.

Anyways, I spotted this door handle in Handyman and they were describing the features and I knew that this was something that every family needs to have on their doors. Let me tell you why.

This door handle has a built in alarm. And not just one alarm, it has 3 different options depending on the type of alarm you want at the time. You can also adjust the sensitivity of each alarm and how easy you want it to go off.

Alarm Types
• Activity Alert
• Tamper Alert
• Forced Entry Alert

Activity Alert: This alarm gives two short beeps to let you know when the door has been opened or closed. This is a great feature for families with small children, like mine, where they are big enough and smart enough to open the door but should not be headed outside alone. The alarm is loud enough to be heard through my entire one level house. This would also be great for families with teenagers, sorry kids no sneaking out this day and age. Or will alert you when someone is home past curfew :o) Also just a great everyday use for the comings and goings of the household.

Tamper Alert: This alarm gives one long alarm sound when the lever has been disturbed. Perfect for at night when everyone is home and inside. Or when you are home alone and not expecting anyone. A great feature for single mom's, or a family where the husband is gone a lot. If anyone touches the door handle and messes with it the alarm will sound and you will be notified.

Forced Entry Alert: This is perfect for when you are out of town or again home alone. If someone attempts to mess with your door with some force or tamper with the lock a steady siren alarm is triggered and acts as a theft deterrent. This is the most common use for all the time usage.

You can easily turn off any alarm settings as well with the simple push of a button.

The handle and lock was so simple to install. I easily installed this in less than 10 minutes. And this was including removing the old handle and lock set. There is no wiring required and the lock comes with two AAA batteries to it is all ready to use. Batteries are said to have a three year battery life as well as a low battery indicator.

Inside BEFORE

Inside AFTER

(Please disregard the ugly brass deadbolt lock. This will be next to go. Very soon I hope.)

The lock set also comes with a handy feature of removing the strike plate on the door lock if you door is not equipped to have one. I was so happy it had this feature or I would have spent some extra time chiseling on the door. The lock is guaranteed to fit on all existing pre-drilled doors.

Outside BEFORE

Outside AFTER

Programming the alarm is a breeze. Simply press the alarm button and scroll through the led lights. Each led light represents a different alarm. Choose the one you want for that time and your done. Easily change the alarm to different settings anytime you want.

Now what I think is so cool about this built in alarm/handle system is that for one it is so affordable. For the safety of your family this handle set costs right around $100. For $100 bucks you can manage the comings and goings of your household and be pre-warned or cause an intruder or attempted intruder to flee before entering your home.

Did you know? 70% of home break-ins are kick-ins to a door. Exactly why the factory setting is defaulted to the forced entry mode. (fact from Schlage)

I also love there is no wiring or programming. Simply install the lock and your done.

Now there are a few things I didn't like or wish could be possible with the lock. First I wish that you could utilize all three alarm settings at the same time. As I would like to have the activity alert setting on at all times with my little ones as well as the forced entry alarm for at night time.

I also locked myself out of the house with this lock. Yes this was mostly my fault, but let me tell you why. The door handle can be opened from the inside even though it is locked. I'm sure this is a security feature, however going to take out the trash, walk, etc if you are not careful and shut the door your are stuck. Me and my boys headed out for a short walk and I had yet to put a spare key out for the new lock. And as soon as I shut the door I knew I was in trouble. We have always had to have a key to lock the door when going out, so this new lock has been an adjustment. But you can be sure I won't do that again.

Third thing and it is more annoying than awful is that on the forced entry setting, if I have my hands full of groceries or kids or whatever and I kick the door too hard to close it, the alarm will go off. Again not awful but I find myself doing this more and more lately. And perhaps I just need to adjust the sensitivity of the lock, but I do still want it to go off easily if someone attempts to break-in.

Overall for right around $100, I think every family needs to have at least one of these lock systems on their main door. Add a little extra piece of mind for you and your family.

Schlage has been making homes more stylish and secure for over 90 years. And did I mention they have a lifetime limited warranty on mechanical components and finish! So you can't go wrong!

You can purchase this system as well as other Schlage products at many different retailers. Most popular include Amazon.com, The Home Depot & Lowe's. But you can check out a full list here.

Make sure to also check out Schlage on Facebook. They currently have a contest going on for the chance to win 10 lock sets for your neighborhood and to help keep it safer!
Disclosure: I received this product for the purpose of review. I did not receive any compensation for this review. The opinions in my reviews are my own, and others’ opinions may vary. This post was written by me and not edited by anyone.